Nathaniel Hawthorne Research Paper

Nathaniel England
Nikki Cruse
English III
9 March 2017
Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American author who lived from 1804 to 1864. Nathaniel lived a fulfilling life, writing many books and reading many more. Hawthorne was given life on July 4, 1804. “Born in Salem, Massachusetts, the son of Nathaniel Hathorne and Elizabeth Clarke (Manning) Hathorne. Both his father and his mother came from a line of lean-jawed Puritans” (Kunitz 347) Hawthorne’s father was the captain of a ship, who set sail on a voyage in 1808. Lost at sea, Elizabeth was grief stricken and widowed with three kids. Hawthorne was but four years old when his father passed. Elizabeth lived the rest of her life as a recluse, shunned herself from society, and

Nathaniel wouldn’t be lonely for long. Doctor Peabody resided in Salem along with his three talented daughters. “One evening,- an unusual occurrence,- the Hawthorne’s called upon the Peabody family. Elizabeth ran upstairs to the chamber of Sophia, who was an invalid, saying, “O Sophia, you must get up and dress and come down! The Hawthornes are here, and you never saw anything so splendid as he is,- he is handsomer than Lord Byron. She laughed and refused to go down, saying that, since he called once, he would call again. He did call again, and Sophia came down in her simple white wrapper to see him. Elizabeth noticed that every time Sophia spoke, Hawthorne looked at her intently, ‘with the same piercing, indrawing gaze.’ From that hour, they basked in full glory of fame and honor, and love grew brighter and brighter, till death made it unending. Sophia Peabody changed the loneliness if the great-hearted student into peace and perfect satisfaction. She was his inspiration, his guide and continual blessing.” (Bolton 56) The two were married in 1842 and live in the Old Manse of Concord. Half a year into marriage, Sophia sent a letter to her mother, described how lovable and tender

continued to depend on political appointments for much of his income. In 1846, he became surveyor of the Customhouse in Salem, a position he held for three years, until electoral defeat for the democrats led to his ouster” (Kenney 496) Shortly thereafter, Hawthorne started his career in writing novel and short stories. His first book, Fanshawe was a short romantic story. As Harry Levin said when speaking about his first book, “.... we have been overlooking his earliest published effort. He would undoubtedly have us to do so; for Fanshawe is all too revealing in its thinness; our inquest is therefore all the more obliged to give it a glance. Written soon after Hawthorne’s graduation from Bowdoin College, it is academic in every sense of the word” (Levin 71) Not many know who he was, or what he did, but those who do know he helped found the archetype of today’s fiction writers and sits atop the throne with an air of accomplishment. He wrote the book, Scarlet Letter, which is most widely known. His wife was always pushing him to be a better writer, and husband. Nathaniel had three children, two daughters and a lone son, Mother Mary Alphonsa, Una Hawthorne, and Julian Hawthorne. His children brought him